PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution said it was laughable that PAS portrayed itself as more loyal to Dr Mahathir Mohamad than the prime minister's own Pakatan Harapan coalition.

Saifuddin (above) questioned where was PAS when the then opposition parties came together to form Harapan under Mahathir's leadership to fight the "kleptocratic government" at the time.

"Where was (PAS secretary-general) Takiyuddin Hassan and PAS when Harapan stood with Tun (Mahathir) to bring down the kleptocratic government?

"It is laughable that today PAS feels that it is more sincere in supporting Dr Mahathir than the Harapan parties," he told Malaysiakini.

He said this in response to Takiyuddin who yesterday accused him of "insubordination" towards Mahathir.

This was after Saifuddin criticised PAS of seeking out Mahathir only after its "kleptocratic" ally was defeated in the last general election, in an apparent reference to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Before the 2018 general election, PAS had cultivated friendly ties with Najib and BN.

Najib, amid grand corruption allegations, led BN to its maiden defeat after 61 years of power during the GE14.

Saifuddin said there was no problem with PAS supporting Mahathir but added the Islamist party should have done so earlier.